I had learned earlier that day that Ms. Cole was feeling under the weather and Ben Vereen would be coming in her place and singing that night. As a seasoned theater geek, this excited me immensely. I spoke with him briefly and asked if he was excited to be honoring these remarkable guests, to which he answered, briefly as well, “Yes, of course!” in that remarkably excited voice that is so uniquely his. When asked how he became so talented, he touched his hand to his heart and said, “It comes from here! It all comes from here!”
Other celebrities of note that were present (and unfortunately, there were only a few to be recognized) were Dionne Warwick (who indulged the photographers with a multitude of poses!), Freddie Roman (Dean of the Friars Club), Nikki Haskell, Lucie Arnaz, and singer Staci Francis, who provided a well-sung, though maybe too Beyonce-like rendition of the Star Spangled Banner when the event began.
The press was asked to leave as soon as the event started, (can you believe it? ) and from some of the looks of the audience one could almost hear palpable relief. I can only imagine that the honorees accepted their awards gracefully and gave tearful speeches as the members of the Friars Club sipped cocktails and compared mansion sizes. This is all speculation though. In all seriousness though, one is obliged to offer warm congratulations to all of the honorees of last night’s ceremony, as they have inspired and helped bring so much generosity and awareness to the performance arts.
Go to Scallywag’s Photo Gallery.
http://www.friarsclub.com/Foundation/foundation_history.htm
